Highlights
The Fed's announcement that it would begin buying agency debt -- together with a steep drop in mortgage rates and a shortened Thanksgiving week -- made for wild results in MBA's data for the Nov. 28 week. The purchase applications index jumped 38.0 percent to 361.1 while the refinancing index spiked 203 percent to 3,801.8. Mortgage rates fell dramatically in the week with 30-year fixed loans down 52 basis points to an average 5.47 percent.

The Fed announced on Tuesday last week a $600 billion emergency program to buy debt issued by federal mortgage agencies in a move aimed at easing mortgage rates. Today's report said borrowers, many of whom failed to take advantage of lower rates when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were first put into conservatorship in early September, quickly jumped into the market this time. Financial markets showed no immediate reaction to the results.